Sunday May 24
On Saturday we got up early to take the subway to the airport and fly to Crete! We arrived in Chania and found our apartment here, did some grocery shopping, and Caleb and I walked around while mom dad and Sophie took naps. We walked down to a little beach which is super close to our apartment, and walked around the old Venetian port which was really cool. Then we went back to the apartment and we all went to Adespoto Taverna for dinner and live music! We had fried mushrooms and dolmas which were super delicious, Caleb got snails and fish, Dad and I got some Skioufikta (Cretan pasta) which was ok but not super. The music was lovely, we knew some of the songs, and I threw them some money and made some song requests, and the musicians even invited me to sing with them! We started dancing and we got other people dancing too, it was great energy. The restaraunt gave us tsipouro and little coconut balls dessert on the house! So nice!
Today we met Giorgios, the nephew of Balkan dance friends Sotirios and Stasha. He is an environmental engineering student at the Polytechnic University here in Chania. He showed us around the old town and led us up to a nice hill where we had a great view of the town, the water and the lighthouse. We passed some street musicians and did some spontaneous dancing which was fun! After our meetup with Giorgios, we got delicious lunch at Tamam, much more flavor than last night’s. I got greek salad and lamb kebab, Caleb got rabbit (our server said that was the best choice!), Aba got pork sausage, Mom had cabbage salad and zucchini phyllo pie, and Sophie had french fries. Sophie also got pizza on her way home with mom and dad, while me and Caleb explored the old town some more. We asked around some local shops and restaraunts about where to find live traditional music, and the first two people we asked told us not here, not anymore, etc. BUT the third guy we asked really hooked us up! He explained that the places right on the water don’t need live music to attract people, but that we should look further in the little streets of the town. He recommended Taverna Apovrado for traditional Cretan music, so we found it and made a reservation! The owner Mikhalis was very happy that I spoke Greek with him! Caleb and I zoomed back to the house to get ready (we gave big thank you to the recommendation guy on the way back) and then went back to secure our spot. We shared dolmas, staka (buttery cheese dip), fried mushrooms, fried cheese. For dessert Caleb and I shared a mocha milkshake which was super yummy, and they brought us delicious watermelon and tsipouro on the house! There was a lyra player and a lauto player and they were both singing. We did some dances and one of the servers kindly showed us a new dance and gave us names of several Cretan dances. The lyra player came over after the music ended and told us how happy he was that we were dancing and singing along with some songs. All the Greek people (diners, musicians, servers) were watching the Olympiacos vs. Real Madrid final basketball match and Olympiacos won woohoo!!! Sophie Mom and Aba went home while Caleb and I followed the noise into town to see the commotion. Everyone was wearing their red and white colors, waving flags, yelling, singing, honking, partying and setting off fireworks and flares in the streets! The police didn’t even try to break it up, they were just directing traffic to go around the celebration! It was so fun to experience, I have never seen such a wild sports crowd!
Monday May 25
Today me and Caleb and Judy went to the Botanical Gardens of Crete! There was a big wildfire there in 2003, but the local people worked hard to rebirth and rebuild the nature into this beautiful oasis. We did a private cooking class where we learned about the Cretan diet and we made Yemista (rice-stuffed tomato and pepper), Dolmas, and tzatziki. We walked around the gardens for about 2 hours, and it was so incredible and meditative, I felt so centered and calm. We saw so many beautiful flowers, herbs, and trees. We spied some sneaky lizards, listened to birds and cicadas, and there was a zoo area with tortoises, peacocks, geese, ducks, and donkeys! We had such an amazing time walking around the gardens, and then we went to the restaraunt for lunch, and got to eat the delicious food that we made in the cooking class! We got to sit outside on the porch looking out at the mountains, and the porch was built around the trees for shade which was so nice. and It was such an immersive and powerful experience to be so connected to the amazing nature here. After the Botanical Gardens, we drove up the Omalos plateau to see the White Mountains and Samaria Gorge. We saw lots of cute sheep and mountain goats, and the mountains are so beautiful! We drove to Rethymno and found our hotel, and then Caleb and I followed the sound of music to a concert in the old Fortress and joined in the last few dances! We came back to the hotel, ate up some leftovers, and now it’s well-earned bedtime!